Amherst Mac-specialty computer store burglarized

AMHERST -- Police are investigating a burglary at a local computer store that resulted in a loss of more than $20,000 in electronics.

Early Tuesday morning, Brinestone, an Apple specialist store located at 124 Route 101A, was broken into, damaged and burglarized, according to police.

Amherst Det. Jim Crocker said authorities are following up on a few leads but are still asking the public to contact police with any information.

"I have a lot of mixed emotions. I am clearly upset and I am angry that someone did this to my business," said Matthew Bernard, owner of Brinestone. "It is quite upsetting."

Bernard said he was contacted by one of his employees on Tuesday morning, notifying him that the front door of the store was broken, glass was scattered throughout the store and the internal alarm had been activated.

Upon further investigation, he learned that between 12 and 14 computers were missing, some of them demo devices and others that were in stock.

He believes the burglary occurred around 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, based on various computer logs.

The store was closed on Tuesday and Wednesday as employees cleaned up the mess and ordered new demo computers, according to Bernard, who said he hopes to have Brinestone fully operational by Friday.

Meanwhile, the store is still handling service-related work, he added.

Although Bernard has insurance for the loss, he said the burglary is still devastating to him and his four employees.

Crocker said the burglary was an isolated incident, and no other burglary-related crimes were reported recently in Amherst.